


Chaotic Neutral

by mochegato



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27290971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mochegato/pseuds/mochegato
Summary: Marinette is feeling down and Dick is determined to make her feel better but Jason beats him to it.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jason Todd, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Dick Grayson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 145





	Chaotic Neutral

Dick knew something was wrong. He even knew what was wrong, he just didn’t know what to do to help her. Marinette had been distant since they found the trail Black Mask left for them, for her. She smiled, but it wasn’t her real smile. Dick knew the difference. It was the smile she gave when she wanted everyone else to be okay and not worry. The smile she gave when she wanted to disappear without anyone noticing. As though he would ever _not_ notice her. 

He always noticed her. He noticed when she was happy. He noticed when she was sad. He noticed when her eyes glimmered with light and when her eyes dulled. He noticed when her laugh was real and when her laugh was forced. He noticed when she stayed up all night working on a design. And he noticed when she stayed up all night wallowing in guilt.

Last night was one of those nights. She had left before he woke up but the pristine appearance of her side of the bed indicated that she hadn’t made it to bed at all. She was getting worse and nothing he had tried in the last week had done anything to help. Dick knew it was time for drastic measures. She didn’t like talking about things directly. He couldn’t confront her and make her talk, but he could make her feel how much he loved her, how much he supported her without using words. 

When he got home from his shift he made their apartment an oasis from stress for her. Dick bought a bouquet of her favorite flowers. He queued up her favorite movie and set out the comfiest blankets on the couch. He had her favorite bath bombs sitting by the bath. He bought her favorite dessert and did her the favor of not destroying the kitchen attempting a terrible tasting and looking version of it. He had ordered her favorite food to be delivered any minute now. 

Everything was perfect except she wasn’t here to see it. She was running really late. She should have been home an hour ago and Dick was starting to get worried. He had texted her a few times throughout the day but hadn’t gotten any response, which was not like her at all. He was about to pick up the phone and give her a call to check on her when he heard keys in the door. He grinned and bounced to the door ready to give her a big hug as soon as she walked in.

“Hey, I missed you today.” He said as he moved to grab her into a bear hug. 

“Awww. I didn’t know you cared Dickiebird.” Jason cooed at him, shoving him to the side before he could finish the hug coming at him. “Here,” he placed the bags of delivery food he was carrying on the counter. “Intercepted the delivery guy in the hallway.”

“I missed you, too.” Marinette said with a big smile, walking out from behind Jason to give Dick a hug and a quick kiss.

“I didn’t know you guys had plans for today.” He eyed Jason suspiciously, watching him help himself to their cookie jar.

“We didn’t.” Jason said through his mouthful of cookie. “Spur of the moment kind of thing.”

“We decided to spend the day hanging out.” She smiled gently up at Dick. Dick looked into her eyes and saw them to shining like they used to. Dick’s smile faltered slightly. He had been trying for a week to bring that light back but nothing worked. A few hours with Jason and the light was back in her eyes. 

“If you need me again, just let me know, Pixie Pop.” He gave her a strong, lingering hug and kissed the top of her head. “See ya, Dickiebird.” He waved as he let himself out of their apartment. 

“You smell like gunpowder.” He observed trying to sound nonchalant.

“Yeah, Jay took me shooting… and we may have also blown something up.” She winced as she said it.

“What?”

“It was abandoned and falling apart.” She waved him off walking over to the coat rack to hang up her coat. “…and it was being used by Black Mask for a slaughter house.” She muttered under her breath.

“WHAT! Marinette! That is beyond dangerous. What were you thinking?” He threw his hands up in the air. He expected something like that from Jason, but Marinette knew better. It was childish and petty and dangerous and she knew better.

She huffed out a breath. “I was thinking I needed to do something. I was thinking I needed to act. I was thinking I needed a distraction from thinking about what he did, what I couldn’t stop him from doing. I was thinking I needed to blow something up. Win, win. I feel better and he won’t be able to use that warehouse to hurt people again.” She got louder and more annoyed as she spoke.

He ran his hand over his face. “You can’t just go around blowing things up. You’re going to start a war.”

She looked down and sighed, a guilty and melancholy look settling on her face. “We didn’t kill anyone, Dick. We didn’t even hurt anyone.” She said quietly. “We just… _I_ just needed to break something. Make something look like I felt. I’m sorry.”

He sighed to himself and looked away. She was finally feeling good again and he was making her feel bad. The entire point of tonight was to make her feel good. “It’s fine, Sunshine. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just eat.” Dick huffed quietly turning toward their kitchen. “Unless you guys grabbed something to eat between explosions.” He said a bit more bitterly than he meant to.

She looked up and stared at him for a few moments like she was trying to figure something out. “Wait, you’re not jealous of Jason are you?” 

Dick’s head fell slightly but he recovered quickly. “No! If you want to hang out with Jason instead of me you’re allowed to. He’s your friend.” He winced at himself when he heard the words come out of his mouth.

“So you’re not mad about the explosion, you’re just jealous I did it with Jason instead of you?” 

“No. I just…” He sighed and leaned against the back of the couch. “Why didn't you come to me? Why didn’t you let _me_ help you?”

She smiled gently at him and moved in front of him so she was standing between his legs and could caress his face gently. “Because you would have given me the responsible, healthy way to deal with my emotions. But, I didn't want the proper answer, I wanted the feels good answer, the irresponsible answer, the blows off steam answer, the chaotic neutral answer. You make me feel right, but I needed to feel wrong for a minute. I needed a moment when I didn’t feel like me and you always make me feel like the best version of me.”

He looked deep in her eyes and lowered his head until their foreheads were touching. She didn’t come to him because he made her feel too good. He could live with that. There was only one issue to clear up. “Okay, but you like me better, right?”

“Dick, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to fall asleep in your arms every night and for your face to be the first thing I see when I wake up every morning. I want to work beside you and start a family with you. _I love you._ ”

He smiled lovingly at her for a moment then narrowed his eyes at her, “Yeah, but you didn’t answer the question.”

“Yes, I like you better” She yelled in pretend exasperation.

“Good, as long as you still like me better.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, nuzzling into her neck. Her giggles turned to raucous laughter when they fell back onto the couch, his arms still loosely around her waist. He leaned his head back to look at her and ran his hand along her cheek. He sighed contentedly, reveling in her beaming smile and sparkling eyes. “I’m glad you have someone that can help you when I can’t… even if it is Jason.”

“Jason might be my best friend, but I’ll _always_ come home to you.” She looked up at him slyly and bit her lower lip. “You know, I am feeling better, but I can think of something that would make me feel amazing that only you can help me with.” She smiled seductively at him as her hands made their way under his shirt.

“Only me, huh?” He grinned back at her, cupping her face with his hands.

She nodded. “Only you. Always you.” She whispered pushing forward to give him a passionate kiss to dispel any lingering doubts about her affection.


End file.
